Click to access 1204.0762.pdf

Movie at: https://vp.nyt.com/video/2021/03/01/92120_1_00sci-moonbeam-video_wg_720p.mp4 

Waz Up

Skynet – Waz Up? – March 6, 2021

Space Exploration and Space History 

Commercial Crew Spacecraft

https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/wp-content/uploads/sites/230/2021/01/Jan14CM2_C01421JNP049_C3PF-Lift-to-Mate-with-SM2-1024×683.jpg

Mars Sample Return Artist’s Rendering

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/pia23496_-_mav_launch.jpg?itok=0VdBAJny

Space-Related Birthdays

Jack Lousma Feb 29, 1936 Skylab and STS-3

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Lousma.jpg/440px-Lousma.jpg

Gordon Cooper Mar 06, 1927 Mercury-Atlas 9; Gemini 5

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Gordon_Cooper_2.jpg/440px-Gordon_Cooper_2.jpg

Deke Slayton Mar 01, 1924 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Slayton.jpg/440px-Slayton.jpg

Bonnie J. Dunbar Mar 03, 1949 5 shuttle missions

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Bonnie_J._Dunbar.jpg/440px-Bonnie_J._Dunbar.jpg

Philip K. Chapman Mar 05, 1935 First Australian astronaut, no missions

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Astronaut_Philip_K_Chapman.jpg/440px-Astronaut_Philip_K_Chapman.jpg

Robert Curbeam Mar 05, 1962 3 shuttle missions

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Robert_Curbeam.jpg/440px-Robert_Curbeam.jpg

James S. Voss Mar 03, 1949 6 shuttle, 1 ISS

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/James_Voss.jpg/440px-James_Voss.jpg

James C. Adamson  Mar 03, 1946 2 shuttle

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/James_Adamson.jpg/440px-James_Adamson.jpg

Michael Lampton Mar 01, 1941 2 shuttle

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Michael_Lampton%2C_Astronaut.jpg

This Week in Space History

Original Gemini Crew See and Bassett

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/gemini_9_see_and_bassett_crew_portrait_s66-15620.jpg?itok=cXbMSEul

Rings Discovered Around Jupiter

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.lme67VWSN-4SxoDmHxn9LgAAAA%26pid%3DApi%26h%3D160&f=1

Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week

Constellations of the week this week are Canis Minor, the Little Dog, and Monoceros, the unicorn.

Space Launches For This Week

Space Coast Launches

Upcoming Rocket Launch List

Space Flight Now Launch Schedule

Launch Schedule

March 9/10

Falcon 9 • Starlink V1.0-L20

Launch time: Approx. 0255 GMT on 10th (9:55 p.m. EST on 9th)

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 21st batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink V1.0-L20. [Feb. 23]

March 12

Long March 7A • XJY 6

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Wenchang, China

A Chinese Long March 7A rocket will launch a classified satellite known as XJY 6. The launch will mark the second flight of the Long March 7A rocket variant with a third stage to place spacecraft into high-energy orbits. The XJY 6 payload is the second satellite to carry that name after the first XJY 6 payload was lost on a Long March 7A launch failure in March 2020. [Feb. 28]

March 13

Falcon 9 • Starlink V1.0-L21

Launch time: 1006 GMT (5:06 a.m. EST)

Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 22nd batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink V1.0-L21. [March 5]

March 20

Soyuz • CAS500 1

Launch time: 0607 GMT (2:07 a.m. EDT)

Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch on a rideshare mission managed by GK Launch Services. The payloads on this mission include the CAS500 1 Earth observation satellite for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Astroscale’s ELSA-d active debris removal demonstration mission, and four Earth-imaging microsatellites built by Axelspace of Japan. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. [Feb. 23]

March 25

Soyuz • OneWeb 5

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia

A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch 36 satellites into orbit for OneWeb, which is developing a constellation of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit for low-latency broadband communications. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. Delayed from Feb. 25. [Feb. 16]

Early 2021

SSLV • Demonstration Launch

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India

India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch on its first orbital test flight. Consisting of three solid-fueled stages and a liquid-fueled upper stage, the SSLV is a new Indian launch vehicle designed to carry small satellites into low Earth orbit. Delayed from September and December 2019. Delayed from January and December 2020. [Dec. 11]  

Recent Astronomical Discoveries 

Factoring in gravitomagnetism could do away with dark matter

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210304145458.htm

Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.

All times are “local” (Dallas) time.

ISS

http://www.heavens-above.com/

Mar. 11

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=25544&mjd=59284.4941955816&type=V

Mar. 14

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=25544&mjd=59287.4626799221&type=V

X-37B

https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=45606&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST

Mar. 9

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=45606&mjd=59283.0730199524&type=V

Mar. 11

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=45606&mjd=59285.0590230156&type=V

Envisat

https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=27386&lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST

Mar. 8

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59281.5026612674&type=V

Mar. 13

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=33.0462&lng=-96.9942&loc=Lewisville&alt=0&tz=CST&satid=27386&mjd=59286.5123364056&type=V